Free the Water Commission & establish a WAI policy coordinator! Support HB2690
/April 26 update:
Unfortunately, the conference committee failed to pass HB2690, even after deferring the bill three times to try to come to an agreement.
But nothing keeps water protectors down for long. Because, for those of us who care about our future and want our kids to live in a world where money doesn't override the law and the most basic human right, we will never give up.
While we are extremely disappointed at the defeat of HB2690, we are also incredibly inspired. The waves of support that pushed this bill (in its many versions) almost to the finish line were unmatched.
Mahalo mahalo mahalo to every single person that supported critical water protection bills this session. Over a thousand pages of testimony were submitted in support of measures to free the Water Commission and aid in Red Hill remediation, dozens walked the halls of the capitol for several days, and hundreds of emails and phone calls were made. There is no doubt that every lawmaker in the building heard your voices.
Ola i ka wai!
APRIL 18 update:
Please take a moment now to remind the conference committee members about the importance of a secure water future that is not influenced by the politics driven by plantation-era large landowners, the military, or other special interests.
Email the conferees using this form and urge them to pass HB2690 HD2 SD1 out of conference and pass it into law.
APRIL 5 UPDATE:
Great news! HB2690 HD2 SD1 passed out of its final committees unamended—this means the bill is heading to conference committee.
Mahalo nunui to everyone that has submitted testimony, turned out, and spread the word, your efforts truly made this happen. Stay tuned for next steps!
APRIL 3 UPDATE:
Our chance to free the Water Commission lives on! You made this happen - mahalo nunui to everyone for emailing and calling Senators Dela Cruz and Rhoads and for spreading the word to your friends and networks. Let’s continue to demonstrate the tremendous support for freeing the Water Commission from undue political influence we’ve witnessed all session long - with the added benefit of establishing an independent Red Hill WAI Policy Coordinator to pursue the remediation of our contaminated ‘āina and wai.
HB2690 HD2 SD1 has been scheduled for a joint committee hearing in the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary committees this Friday, April 5, at 10:15am in Senate conference room 211.
Please take a moment to submit testimony in support and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Sample testimony and instructions below.
Sample testimony
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Moriwaki, Vice Chair Gabbard, and Members of the Committees,
My name is ___ and I am from ___. I stand in STRONG SUPPORT of the HB2690 HD2 SD1.
As our climate crisis inevitably worsens, and our water resources become ever more scarce, it is critical that our precious wai is managed as a public trust resource as mandated in our Constitution and Water Code - and protected from the legacy of corporate water hoarding and waste that continues to this day.
Unfortunately, longstanding political vulnerabilities have hampered and will continue to hamper the Water Commission in its work to implement our Water Code and uphold the public trust in our water resources. Currently, a Governor appointee - the Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson - chairs the Commission. Another Governor appointee, the state Attorney General, is the sole entity allowed to provide the Commission with legal advice. This has raised and continues to raise serious concerns regarding politically connected special interests influencing the Governor and his appointees, to impede the work of the Commission and its staff.
By requiring the Commission to choose its own Chair, select its own executive director, and allowing it to retain its own legal counsel, this measure will provide important layers of political insulation that the Commission will need to fulfill its critical mission in a meaningful and timely manner. These provisions, as well as a performance review process to ensure an objective, apolitical basis for staff employment decisions, would also allow Commission staff to fulfill their constitutional and statutory obligations without the fear of political retribution.
This bill would also provide the Commission with much-needed authorities to issue emergency orders in a timely manner, and to impose meaningful but fair fines for those who would violate our Water Code or the Commission’s emergency orders. Such authorities are absolutely critical for the protection of our water, and our islands, in the face of the climate crisis.
Moreover, this measure would aid in the protection and restoration of Oʻahu’s sole source aquifer, by establishing a WAI Policy Coordinator, insulated by the Commission, to facilitate the remediation of the ‘āina and wai contaminated by the Red Hill Fuel Facility.
Accordingly, I respectfully but strongly urge the Committees to PASS HB2690 HD2 SD1.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter “HB2690” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Note: Oral testimony will not be taken at this hearing.
Don’t forget to spread the word!
APRIL 1 update:
It’s crunch time—this Friday is the last day for bills in the 2023-2024 Hawaiʻi Legislature to have their final “standing committee” meeting. HB2690 HD2 SD1 needs to be heard by this Friday or else it is pau for this session.
Please help keep HB2690 HD2 SD1 alive, and help put an end to the generations-long control of our public trust water resources by powerful corporate and military interests. Call or email Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz and Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads, and ask that they schedule this bill for a joint committee hearing by the “Decking Deadline.” Sample script below.
Call: Senator Rhoads, (808)586-6130; Senator Dela Cruz, (808)586-6090
Email: senrhoads@capitol.hawaii.gov, sendelacruz@capitol.hawai.gov
Email subject: Please hear HB2690 HD2 SD1
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz and Chair Rhoads,
My name is ____ and I am from ____. I am writing to respectfully but strongly urge you to hold a hearing on HB2690 HD2 SD1, Relating to Water, by Friday’s Decking deadline. Water has been and will always be our most precious resource, and even more so in our ever-worsening climate crisis. We must therefore do everything we can to uphold the public trust in its protection, conservation, and fair allocation.
This measure may be one of the most important and historic pieces of legislation for the future water security and well-being of our islands. Please, help keep this bill alive and ensure its passage this legislative session, if not for our present generations, then for those that will follow us long after we are gone.
Mahalo nui for your consideration of this request.
March 19 update:
BIG NEWS! The transformative provisions of SB3327 SD1 HD1, the “Free the Water Commission” bill, have been (mostly) proposed for inclusion in proposed amendments to HB2690 HD2, the WAI policy coordinator measure intended to help implement the recommendations of the Water Alliance Initiative.
Mahalo nui to all who called and emailed Representative David Tarnas, the Chair of the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee, to ask that he schedule a hearing for SB3327 SD1 HD1. Unfortunately, without a hearing scheduled, SB3327 SD1 HD1 is now likely dead, despite voluminous and overwhelming support for the measure in all of its prior hearings.
However, our efforts may not have been in vain! In a just-released proposed draft, “HB2690 HD2 SD1 Proposed” will have a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, March 20 at 1:15pm in the Senate Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment Committees. Please take a moment to submit testimony in support of this proposed draft ASAP!
Sample testimony
Aloha Chair Inouye, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Elefante, Vice Chair Richards, and Members of the Committees,
My name is ___ and I am from ___. I stand in STRONG SUPPORT of the PROPOSED SD1 to HB2690 HD2.
For decades, the state has failed to address longstanding structural issues that have left the Water Commission vulnerable to undue political influence, and unable to take emergency action or enforce the water code against deep-pocket and politically powerful interests.
As we have seen, these structural weaknesses have stymied the Commission’s ability to do anything to meaningfully address the Red Hill water crisis - including the Navy’s ongoing, years-long noncompliance with its water use permits, and the waste of over 3 billion gallons of “essentially drinkable” water and counting from the Red Hill shaft.
Most recently, political influence over the Water Commission and its staff led to the highly questionable, still-unexplained “reassignment” of the former water deputy who, during his tenure, had successfully implemented the water code to a far greater extent than any of his predecessors. Notably, this “reassignment” occurred after misleading statements were made to the Governor’s administration, by an official of a wealthy and politically connected corporation recently fined by the Commission for its illegal water diversions.
The proposed SD1 of this measure would address these weaknesses, originally identified 30 years ago. First, it would allow the Commission members to choose their own Chairperson, and ensure that objective standards - rather than arbitrary and unilateral decisionmaking by the Commission Chair - are used to evaluate the work of Commission staff. Second, the Commission would be authorized to issue meaningful fines - subject to the careful, case-by-case consideration of a number of mitigating and aggravating factors - that may be the only means to hold recalcitrant, deep-pocket water code violators accountable. Finally, the proposed SD1 would allow the Commission to more expediently address water emergencies, such as those threatened by the U.S. Navy, rather than undergo the months- or years-long process currently required under statute.
To strengthen this measure, I respectfully ask that the Proposed SD1 be further amended to 1) place the WAI Policy Coordinator and associated staff under the Water Commission, and NOT the politically appointed Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson; and 2) allow the Commission to retain its own independent legal counsel, as proposed under SB3327 SD1.
Accordingly, I respectfully but strongly urge the Committee to ADOPT the Proposed SD1 for HB2690 HD2, with the above-noted amendments.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter “HB2690” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4).
MARCH 17 UPDATE:
Please take a moment to help free the Water Commission from the decades of political interference that has left our islands in a state of increasing water insecurity. SB3327 SD1 HD1, which cleared the Water and Land Committees in both the Senate and House, as well as the Senate Judiciary, Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and Ways and Means Committees, needs to be scheduled for its next hearing this week by House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chair David Tarnas. If it is not heard, it will die – and we may lose our best chance to finally insulate the Water Commission from the influence of developers and legacy water hoarders.
Please contact Rep. Tarnas, at 808-586-8510 and/or via e-mail at reptarnas@capitol.hawaii.gov, to urge him to schedule SB3327 SD1 HD1 in the Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee. Below is a sample message:
Aloha Representative Tarnas,
My name is ____ and I am from ____. I am writing/calling you today to kindly urge you to schedule SB3327 SD1 HD1 in your Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee this week. This bill is critical to securing a just and resilient future for Hawaiʻi’s freshwater resources, by addressing political vulnerabilities that have allowed and could continue to allow powerful corporate interests to influence the crucially important work of the Water Commission.
Mahalo nui for your time,
[Your name]
MARCH 13 UPDATE:
SB3327 SD1 was passed out of the House Water and Land Committee on Tuesday with amendments with 177+ in written testimonies in support. The bill now needs to be heard in the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs (Chaired by Representative Tarnas) and Finance (Chaired by Representative Yamashita) Committees.
Mahalo nui to those who submitted testimony!
March 9 update:
SB3327 SD1, the “Free the Water Commission” bill will be heard in the House Water and Land Committee on Tuesday, March 12, 9am in House conference room 430.
This bill ensures that the Water Commission and its staff can focus on implementing the Water Code and uphold the public trust doctrine, without fear of political interference or retribution. You can learn more about the bill and how we got here below.
Sample testimony:
Aloha Chair Ichiyama, Vice Chair Poepoe, and Members of the Committee,
My name is ______ and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB3327 SD1, to secure a just and resilient future for our water resources and by extension, our islands as a whole.
As our climate crisis inevitably worsens, and our water resources become ever more scarce, it is critical that our precious wai is managed as a public trust resource, as envisioned in our Constitution and Water Code - and protected from the legacy of corporate water hoarding and waste that continues to this day.
Unfortunately, longstanding political vulnerabilities have hampered and will continue to hamper the Water Commission in its work to implement our Water Code and uphold the public trust in our water resources. Currently, a Governor appointee - the Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson - chairs the Commission. Another Governor appointee, the state Attorney General, is the sole entity allowed to provide the Commission with legal advice. This has raised and continues to raise serious concerns regarding politically connected special interests influencing the Governor and his appointees, to impede the work of the Commission and its staff.
By requiring the Commission to choose its own Chair, select its own executive director, and allowing it to retain its own legal counsel, this measure will provide important layers of political insulation that the Commission will need to fulfill its critical mission in a meaningful and timely manner. These provisions, as well as a performance review process to ensure an objective, apolitical basis for staff employment decisions, would also allow Commission staff to fulfill their constitutional and statutory obligations without the fear of political retribution.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the Committee to PASS this measure. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
March 1 update:
The Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees passed SB3327 SD1 UNAMENDED! This was the bill’s final hearing in the Senate and it will now move to the House.
FEBRUARY 28 UPDATE:
Great news!! The Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees have scheduled the final Senate committee hearing for SB3327 SD1, the bill that would finally - after four decades - ensure that the Water Commission and its staff can focus on implementing the Water Code and uphold the public trust doctrine, without fear of political interference or retribution. SB3327 SD1 will be heard this Friday, March 1 at 10:31am in the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees.
Please submit your written testimony today! With just a few minutes of your time, you can help give our Water Commission the tools and independence it needs to uphold the public interest in our precious wai, and protect our public trust water from corporate water hoarding and waste.
Scroll down for more info about what this bill does.
Sample testimony
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Moriwaki, Vice Chair Gabbard, and Members of the Committees,
My name is ______ and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB3327 SD1, to secure a just and resilient future for our water resources and by extension, our islands as a whole.
As our climate crisis inevitably worsens, and our water resources become ever more scarce, it is critical that our precious wai is managed as a public trust resource, as envisioned in our Constitution and Water Code - and protected from the legacy of corporate water hoarding and waste that continues to this day.
Unfortunately, longstanding political vulnerabilities have hampered and will continue to hamper the Water Commission in its work to implement our Water Code and uphold the public trust in our water resources. Currently, a Governor appointee - the Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson - chairs the Commission. Another Governor appointee, the state Attorney General, is the sole entity allowed to provide the Commission with legal advice. This has raised and continues to raise serious concerns regarding politically connected special interests influencing the Governor and his appointees, to impede the work of the Commission and its staff.
By requiring the Commission to choose its own Chair, select its own executive director, and allowing it to retain its own legal counsel, this measure will provide important layers of political insulation that the Commission will need to fulfill its critical mission in a meaningful and timely manner. These provisions, as well as a performance review process to ensure an objective, apolitical basis for staff employment decisions, would also allow Commission staff to fulfill their constitutional and statutory obligations without the fear of political retribution.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the Committees to PASS this measure. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Testimony instructions:
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter "SB3327" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony Note: Oral testimony will not be accepted at this hearing.
February 9 updates:
The Senate Committees on Water and Land and Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs both unanimously passed SB3327 with minor amendments after 125+ testimonies in support. You can watch the hearing here. The bill now needs to be heard in the Senate Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.
The August fires, and the resulting tragic loss of life, revealed many weaknesses in Hawaiʻi’s fire suppression, natural resource management, and emergency response systems. They also revealed the extent to which special interests and their government enablers may be willing to exploit a tragedy for corporate gain. This week, on Wednesday, February 7, we have one critically important water bill that will help to empower the Water Commission to not only deal expeditiously with water emergencies and water code violators, but also ensure its staff are able to focus on implementing the Water Code and public trust doctrine without fear of political retribution. More details and sample testimony below.
SB3327: Free the Water Commission
SB3327 would allow the Water Commission to hold water code violators accountable with meaningful fines, and take emergency and timely action during water shortages caused by prolonged droughts, aquifer contamination, rising chloride levels, or other unforeseen events. Moreover, it would protect Water Commission members and staff from the influence of opportunistic and politically connected corporate interests, allowing them to implement the state Water Code in the public’s interest, and without fear of political retribution.
Why this bill is important:
First, this bill would enable the Commission on Water Resource Management to better ensure public needs are prioritized during a water emergency, such as the one that the Red Hill crisis continues to threaten. Currently, the Water Commission must undergo time consuming, months-long planning and rulemaking processes and exhaust its water shortage authorities before taking action to preserve fresh drinking water supplies in a water emergency. This bill would allow the Water Commission to instead take immediate action to protect our water and priority water needs in the event of water emergencies, in real time.
Second, this bill would authorize the Water Commission to impose meaningful fines against those who could otherwise over pump our aquifers and drain our streams dry with impunity – notwithstanding the law or the needs of the community. The current $5,000 daily fine the Commission is authorized to levy is wholly insufficient to hold multinational corporations - or the Department of Defense - accountable if and when their water code violations impact priority public needs, including for affordable housing. Without the increased fines authorized under this measure, millions of gallons of water per day could be illegally monopolized by deep pocket entities for a fraction of a cent per gallon in penalties, harming our precious water resources, and the houses, schools, farms, small businesses, and others that rely on them.
Finally, this bill would address political vulnerabilities that could allow powerful corporate interests to unduly influence the important work of the Water Commission. Currently, the Commission’s Chair is a member of the Governor’s cabinet, as is its legal counsel, the Attorney General. Both individuals have considerable power over the Water Commission and its staff, and both answer directly to the Governor. Accordingly, powerful interests who have the Governor’s ear could substantially interfere with the Commission’s implementation of the Water Code, and the Public Trust Doctrine.
(As we saw in the aftermath of the Lahaina fires, the “reassignment” of water deputy Kaleo Manuel raised serious concerns regarding politically powerful corporate water hoarders influencing the Governor’s administration, to retaliate against a deputy who had made historic progress in the implementation of the Water Code.)
This bill would accordingly allow Commission members to decide amongst themselves who among their volunteers should serve as their Chair, and would further allow the entire Commission to choose an “executive director” as the lead Commission staff person. Annual performance reviews for the executive director would ensure that any employment decisions are based on a documented and objective assessment of their performance, rather than political opportunism or retribution. Finally, the Commission would be able to hire their own legal counsel, rather than rely on the Governor-serving Attorney General.
Sample testimony
Aloha Chair Wakai, Chair Inouye, Vice Chair Elefante, and Members of the Committees,
My name is ______ and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB3327, in order to enable the Water Commission to hold water code violators accountable; take timely, emergency action during water shortages; and allow Commission staff to implement the state Water Code, without fear of political retribution.
The uniqueness of Hawaiʻi’s freshwater landscape puts our islands at a higher risk of water shortages and emergencies. Coupled with the growing impacts of the climate crisis, our agencies must have the tools they need to respond to water crises and protect our water and priority water uses, including for affordable housing, in a timely manner.
This measure would provide the Water Commission with two such tools. First, it would allow the Water Commission to take emergency action in the event of a water shortage, and prioritize the most pressing public needs, without undergoing a months- or possibly years-long process as currently required under statute. Second, it would allow the Commission to impose much more meaningful fines for water code violations, based on a careful assessment of the circumstances of each case; such authority is critical to protecting the public interest from deep pocket water code violators who could easily shrug off the Commission’s current maximum daily fine.
In addition to the above authorities, this bill would also address political vulnerabilities that may allow powerful corporate interests to unduly interfere with the work of the Commission and its staff. Currently, a Governor appointee - the Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson - chairs the Water Commission and dictates its agenda. In addition, the Attorney General, who is also appointed by the Governor, is the sole provider of legal advice to the Water Commission. Both of these appointees have considerable power over the Water Commission and its staff. Accordingly, those with influence over the Governor, including corporate water hoarders, could substantially interfere with the work of the Commission, through his political appointees.
By requiring the Commission to choose its own Chair, select its own executive director, and retain its own legal counsel, this measure will provide important layers of political insulation and thereby help to rebuild public confidence in the work of the Commission. These provisions, as well as a performance review process to ensure an objective, apolitical basis for staff employment decisions, would also allow Commission staff to fulfill their constitutional and statutory obligations without fear of political retribution.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the Committees to PASS this measure. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter "SB3327" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)